Hydrothermal Eruption Causes Damage in Yellowstone National Park Region • Washington State Standard
A hydrothermal explosion occurred in Yellowstone National Park on Tuesday morning, causing damage to a boardwalk and sending debris several stories high in the Biscuit Basin area, located northwest of Old Faithful. This information was confirmed by Michael Poland, the scientist-in-charge at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.
The explosion, described as “small” by Poland, happened around 10 a.m. approximately 2.1 miles northwest of Old Faithful, likely originating from the Black Diamond Pool in Biscuit Basin. Poland stated that there have been no reported injuries as of early Tuesday afternoon.
Videos shared online by witnesses show several individuals on the boardwalk near the explosion site, with aftermath footage displaying debris scattered across the area and a damaged boardwalk.
For safety reasons, the parking lot and boardwalks in Biscuit Basin are temporarily closed. Yellowstone National Park geologists are investigating the explosion but have found no unusual volcanic activity.
“Monitoring data show no changes in the Yellowstone region. Today’s explosion does not reflect activity within the volcanic system, which remains at normal background levels,” Poland said in a statement. “Hydrothermal explosions like today’s are not indicative of imminent volcanic eruptions and are not caused by magma rising towards the surface.”
According to Poland, these explosions occur when water rapidly converts to steam underground and are “relatively common” in Yellowstone National Park.
Similar incidents include an explosion in Biscuit Basin in May 2009 and another in Norris Geyser Basin on April 15, 2024. Porkchop Geyser in Norris Geyser Basin also exploded in 1989.
Hydrothermal explosions can send boiling water, steam, mud, and rock into the air, reaching heights of up to 1.2 miles, as per the U.S. Geological Survey. A 2018 report noted that large hydrothermal explosions occur on average every 700 years. The park contains at least 25 craters over 328 feet wide, as identified in the report.
“Although large hydrothermal explosions are rare on a human time scale, the potential for future events in Yellowstone National Park is significant,” the report states. It suggests that an explosion large enough to create a 328-foot-wide crater might be expected every few hundred years.
According to the National Park Service, the Black Diamond Pool erupted black, murky water following an earthquake in July 2006 and experienced “several explosive eruptions” in the subsequent days, although such eruptions have been “infrequent” since then. Its average temperature is 148.5 degrees Fahrenheit.
The public affairs office for Yellowstone National Park referred the Daily Montanan to the news release from the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, stating no further information was available as of early Tuesday afternoon.
The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory will release more information as it becomes available.